Five Indian Super League franchises and three I-League teams will be among 16 sides vying for top honours in the Durand Cup football tournament, to be played across Kolkata from September 5 to October 3. (More Football News)
The inaugural edition happened in Shimla in 1888, when it started off as an Army Cup, open only to the British Indian Army troops in India but soon opened up to civilian teams.
Named after its founder, Sir Mortimer Durand, Foreign Secretary of British India from 1884 to 1894, the iconic tournament reached its 130th edition in 2021. Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have been the most successful teams, winning the tournament 16 times each.
The tournament was first held in the mecca of Indian football back in 2019, after moving from its longtime venue at Delhi.
The Durand Cup is unique in the sense the winners are awarded three trophies with two rolling ones (the Durand Cup and the Shimla Trophy) and the President’s Cup for permanent keeping.
Traditionally organised by the Indian Army, the world's third oldest and Asia's oldest football tournament will this year also see the government of West Bengal as joint hosts, who have been providing support in all aspects of the organisation.
Besides top ISL franchises FC Goa and Bengaluru FC, the other clubs from India's top division would be Kerala Blasters, Jamshedpur FC and Hyderabad FC.
Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw (Standing 5th from Left) & President V.V.Giri (Standing center) with the winners after a Durand Final. File photo
Challenging them would be the century-old Mohammedan Sporting of Kolkata, who were the first Indian winners of the Cup in 1940 and who would be leading a troika of I-League clubs including defending champions Gokulam Kerala and Sudeva FC of Delhi.
FC Bengaluru United and Delhi FC will represent the second division of the Indian football while two Indian Army teams (Red and Green), a team from Indian Air Force and Indian Navy, CRPF, and the Assam Rifles round off the 16.
Three leading footballing venues of the state have been identified for the tournament -- Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan, Mohun Bagan Club Ground in Kolkata as well as the Kalyani Municipal Stadium -- which has been regularly hosting national level football matches over the past few years.
